<span style="color: #222222;">Western nations have condemned Moscow's plans to hold urgent referendum in parts of Ukraine that are currently under Russian control.<br />''</span><br />''According to media reports, the votes have been called by Russian-backed officials in four Ukrainian regions to ask whether they should become part of Russia.<br />''<br />''The US, Germany, and France have said that they would never recognise the results of such ballots. The US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the US would never recognise the votes.<br />''<br />''On other hand, pro-Russian leaders in the four Ukrainian regions have supported the referendum.<br />''<br />''The head of the administration in Luhansk, Leonid Pasechnik, said, it was our common dream and our common future. The deputy head of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said that the votes would restore historical justice and be irreversible.<br />''<br />''The Nato military alliance said the plans spelled an escalation in the war.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Russia plans to run polls for five days and it starts on Friday in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as well as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south.</span><br />